SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (33 page)

“
Conflagration told me the news. Your
daughter was found safe and would come pay her respects.
”

Fury nods and extends his hands, wrist up
to Aledaar, so Cloud does the same. Aledaar doesn
’
t touch Fury as she's
come
to expect
.
Instead, his hands remain folded on his
stomach. The dragonkin around him, including Con, give the old male room.

Cloud can
’
t take her eyes from the relic he wears.
It
’
s clearly magic, anything that
glows on its own must be, and her mouth dries as Aledaar comes closer. For a
moment she thinks of Cooper and his kiss.

“
My Generous Sire, this is my daughter,
Lady Tempest.
”

“
Well,
”
Aledaar says as he
inspects Cloud. Wings, eyes, teeth, and even her offered wrists don
’
t escape his hungry gaze. It
’
s more like she
’
s a prize than anything else and her value
will be decided before she has a chance to speak.

“
Lady
Tempest,
”
Aledaar
’
s smile doesn
’
t reach his eyes and he presses his hands
tighter to his body and away from her.
“
The gift of your loyalty will
be repaid by mine, I promise.
”

“
My Generous Sire Aledaar,
”
Cloud
answers the way Fury had.
“
I am proud to
—”

Cloud
’
s head snaps back, wrenched by a big hand
tangled in her hair then she looks up into a face she only sees in nightmares.
Torrent
’
s misshapen leer fills her
vision and her hands grab hold of his tunic.

“
Cloud,
”
he hisses as his other hand clamps down
on her mouth, silencing any protest.

“
Torrent,
”
Aledaar
barks. Her mouth is freed though the fingers in her hair continue to twist
until they break whole strands.
“
Lady Tempest.
”

Aledaar unlocks the heavy clasp behind
his neck. It parts with a thunk and Cloud loses sight of the alluring glow as
Aledaar leans down. Then, without touching her, the chain is draped over her
shoulders. At first there
’
s warmth at her belly in
response to the relic
’
s presence then as the clasp
closes under Torrent
’
s fist the heat begins to
burn.

The moment Aledaar drops its full weight
to her shoulders, the burn inside her flares even brighter. The building
pressure is the only thing that keeps the chain from fracturing bone. As it is,
the weight seeds deep bruises.

“
Unh,
”
she moans as her hands fall, dead at her
sides, and the room dims with the rising fire in her stomach. At her side, Fury
growls and Cloud is unable to look since Torrent
’
s grip prevents it.

“
Fury, you will see she is not disturbed
and inform me when this spectacle has ended.
”

The disgust Aledaar hid before he placed
the necklace around Cloud
’
s neck is now as powerful as
the burn she can
’
t fight. The room before her
ripples in the heat pouring from her mouth and her limp body can only dangle as
Torrent lifts her from the ground. Only Cloud
’
s boneless wing-tips reach the stone
floor.

“
One
day, little bitch,
”
Torrent promises, each word
accented with a shake that cramps her muscles and sends pain through every nerve
in her body.
“
One day I will be the master
of the relic you wear. I will send you home to kill every gryphon you love and
you will live out your life as my broken plaything.
”

The loose, painful knots in Cloud cohere
and force thick burning acid past her lips to sting her neck and chin. Flames
and smoke erupt as the fiery pitch ignites in the air and small globules
explode, flinging tiny burning bombs at the stone ceiling twenty feet above.

“
Until then,
”
Torrent
drops her.
“
I will have to get by with the
satisfaction of how much you suffer.
”

Cloud folds up, landing hard on the
stone. Her head falls against Fury as she comes to rest on her side facing the
chamber door. Torrent strides from the room, shadowed by the remaining
dragonkin. They are replaced by Lady Flay. Con doesn
’
t raise his head as he passes her.

“
I had no choice but to leave Soar behind,
Tempest,
”
Flay whispers as she gets to
her knees.
“
They
’
ll kill him if he interferes with their
plans for you.
”

Any last hope Soar will come for Cloud
sears inside her throat.

Together with Fury, Flay straightens
Cloud
’
s wings and draws her hair
away from the burning mess that continues to block her throat and leak from her
nose and mouth. At least on her side with her head tilted and her mouth toward
the floor, she can breathe between episodes of vomiting.

“
Daughter,
”
Fury
strokes Cloud
’
s cheek.
“
When you were nearly a year old I took
you from the eyrie to Skyfall for your naming. Your dame stayed behind with
Con. When I brought you home, it was Con
’
s
turn and I made the journey a second time with him tucked in my arms.

“
Upon our return, all life had been taken
from Welch Peak. My female and my daughter were dead. I was told there were no
survivors so I returned to Skyfall with my small son and my grief. Your dame
was Lily and Con carries her dark hair and eyes.

“
She had royal blood, Tempest. She knew
the weather and could control it to an extent.

“
When Con was fifteen I released his
dragon and brought him here with the same lie I told you. The relic you wear will
steal your will as it took mine. There was no choice but to bring you here. The
pain of fighting Aledaar
’
s will is worse than what you
now face. The only relief is to submit.

“
There is no hope for our kin, Tempest.
Only shame and eventually death.
”

Understanding why Fury betrayed her doesn
’
t mean much. Not now. Not at all. If
Cloud could speak she would send him away.

“
Lady Flay, you are charged with her care
and training
—”

Fury
’
s voice breaks and for several minutes
there is nothing but the painful gurgling in Cloud
’
s throat. The silence ends with a joint
wrenching convulsion that brings another burst of sticky fire.

“
As is the custom, Lord Fury,
”
Flay nods as her hand finds Cloud
’
s shoulder to steady her tremors.
“
As the female closest in age it is my honour.
”

“
How long, Flay?
”

The drink the green dragonkin puts to
Tempest
’
s lips is cool and sweet and
from the first sip it eases the terrible rawness in her throat. Flay cradles
her like a baby, her ministrations a blur of holding Tempest
’
s weak body on the chamber pot and wiping
her chin with scraps of cloth that were alight by the time they were tossed
aside.

It
’
s
a cruel rebirth for the naive young gryphon who once believed her biggest
problem was how many weeks she
’
d spend on hands and knees
apologizing to Master Sky. Now that life is a memory, blackened through the
filter of fire and pain brought on by the relic.

“
Five days, Tempest,
”
Flay sways side to side and tucks Tempest
’
s head against her neck.
“
If you hadn
’
t fought so damned hard it would have
been over in two.
”

“
Yeah.
”

Until she has a chance to safely resist
Aledaar she won
’
t know if it was worth it.
Although she harboured the deepest wish the healer was right, she couldn
’
t bring herself to give in, not until the
relic broke her.

“
Sit her up.
”

Tempest clings to Flay in response to
Aledaar
’
s voice. He must have heard
the pains and vomiting had stopped. There
’
s
nothing to do but comply and she does her best but Flay still has to hold her
upright. She pulls Tempest
’
s hair out of the way and Aledaar
removes the relic before replacing it around his own neck.

Through the haze of puffy eyes and
exhaustion, Tempest makes out Fury
’
s red hair and brilliant gold
eyes floating at Aledaar
’
s shoulder. Nice of her sire
to come by now when it
’
s all over.

“
Lady
Tempest,
”
Aledaar says.
“
You shall never disobey me or give harm
to me or any of my kin. The pain you experienced will be your punishment should
you ever resist my will.
”

“
Yes, My Generous Sire Aledaar,
”
Tempest
coughs but she refuses to collapse. Her throat feels full of glass. Though she
wishes to stare the old gryphon down, her eyes drop to his feet in submission
as her hands rise, wrists up. She can only hold the position for a few seconds
before her elbows sag and her arms fold in over her adornment.

“
You will tell me about Cooper
’
s green relic,
”
Aledaar orders.

“
What green relic?
”
Tempest
says.

“
Were you ever alone with him?
”

“
No,
”
she lies.

There is no pain from her disobedience.
She
’
s still numbed by the
humiliation of surrender to the gold relic but even that shouldn
’
t stop the punishment for lying. For good
measure, though, she eyes Aledaar
’
s gold relic and cringes
against Flay.

You pinfeathered excuse for a Sire. You
don
’
t own me.

She hides her relief with a couple of
sharp coughs to the side. If she had the strength to take up Flay
’
s dagger and open Aledaar from testicles
to throat she would.

“
Very well. Master Soar waits for you at
the main entrance. Lady Flay will see you cleaned up and dressed appropriately.

“
He will leave, Lady Tempest, or he will
die.
”